WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Waking up as a world champion was even better than going to bed as one the night before for Canada's Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz.

"I never expected the buzz,'' she said. "Canadians love skating. It's such a blessing to be Canadian and win a world championship.

"I always wanted it to happen but I never expected it would feel like this when it did. The best part about it is I don't ever have to think about winning again because it happened. All those years of finishing second and third or missing the medals ... now I can let it all go, let it go and never feel about it anymore.''

For Kraatz the best part of waking up a world champion was the discovery they'd done something of historical significance.

"I loved waking up to realize that it was the first time an ice dance team from North America are world champions,'' he said.

"We finally beat the Russians. We always were behind the Russians. That's what I thought of when the Canadian flag was raised and they played O Canada.''

That, he said, was balanced off by another thought.

"I woke up and realized I still have to do my own laundry,'' he said of preparing to go on the 26-stop ISU Champions Tour.

CASH TO GO WITH GOLD

Well, he could have called valet. The two won $82,500 US to go with the gold.

This afternoon at the World Figure Skating Championships exhibition they'll be introduced for the first time with the words they'll hear for years and years as they go from tour stop to tour stop in their new lives as pro show skaters.

"From Canada, 2003 world ice dance champions ...''

"It's a title nobody can take away,'' stressed Kraatz. "I look forward to the responsibility which comes with it. I think kids pay much more attention to a world champion talking. I'd like to use it to help skating.''

The two plan to skate for four years or so with the tours to cash in on the title. Bourne plans to become a coach. After that, Kraatz has no idea what he wants to do other than move back to Vancouver "and be an international man of mystery.''

EXPOSED BLOCK VOTING

When they left Nagano in '98, after being hosed by the judges with their Riverdance number, they and Canadian judge Jean Sempft exposed block voting and cheating.

Many felt Kraatz and Bourne had killed their career then and there.

"It's hard to speak out against the sport and still be in it,'' said Bourne. "You can be hurt by that. We were sort of rebels. At one point it did hurt us. To get back in the game after Nagano and after being injured, we had to be so much better.''

Kraatz said one day he believes they'll look back and "be very glad we were part of change.''

While his partner and almost everybody else in the sport totally disagrees, Kraatz believes the secret judging used here this year was the key to their winning.

"I personally believe that under the old system, we wouldn't have won,'' he said. "Under the old system it would have been a different outcome.''

The anonymous voting, he said, allowed countries from the so-called Eastern bloc to judge what they saw instead of how other Eastern bloc countries wanted them to see.

But Bourne disagreed. If the system worked for them, she said, it was in getting lucky with the computer spitting out the right nine of 14 judges. It is believed that a 6.0 awarded to the silver medal-winning Russian pair involved a vote which didn't count.

The morning after the night before, however, was mostly about expressing feelings for each other. There's no romantic overtones as with Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.

But telling each other how they feel about each other was a big part of their day.

Over the emotion, she talked about it at length yesterday.

'IT'S LIKE A SECOND MARRIAGE'

"It's like a second marriage,'' she said.

"Except I started skating with Victor when I was 15. I went from being a girl to a woman,'' said the 21-year-old Chatham, Ont., skater of her 31-year-old partner from Vancouver. "We've changed and grown together.''

Indeed it was a big part of the night before.

Deadlines were gone when they made it to the podium press conference where I asked the question of what she said to him when he pulled himself up off the ice at the end of their gold medal-winning routine.

"I said thank you,'' she said and then began to cry.

"I've been with Vic for 12 years ...'' she choked.

"I'm sorry,'' she stopped and took time to gather her emotions.

"These are tears of happiness. It's been a great ride. I said thank you to him. If it wasn't for him it wouldn't have happened. If I hadn't had him as a partner ... I'm just so glad he skated with me and that it happened.''